Back then the current software for the Arduino IDE was set at 0022 and it required you to modify a file to get it work.

Apparently enough people wanted a feature like that to come built into the Arduino IDE that it has now become reality. No more modifying of files.

It’s extremely easy to do know and I’ll show you exactly how to do it, so go ahead and fire up the Arduino IDE, plug in your programmer (I’m still using an AVRISP mkII) and plug up your Arduino Uno to an external supply and to your programmer.

First select which board you plan on using:

Next select the programmer you plan on using:

Lastly, when you are ready to upload your sketch to your Arduino, hold the the shift key when you push the upload button. You’ll notice the words change when you hover your mouser over it while hitting the shift key.

That’s it! Simple as pie. Using this method you will bypass the Arduino bootloader, freeing up some flash memory as well as avoiding the initial startup sequence that needs to be used for the tradition sketch upload.

Update: 6/25/12

Here is the driver I use on my computer so that the AVRISP connects correctly and can be used by the Arduino IDE to program your board or burn the bootloader. Save it, and unzip it. It is a dll file. To use, go into the device manager and find AVRISP (not sure what it may be called in your system), and update the driver for it using the one I provided (it’s also buried in the Arduino folder). Normally its the device with the yellow exclamation symbol if it has no current driver.

The driver I have is not digitally signed, but you should be able to navigate through the error message and force it to update.